An Object (CD)

No Age

1 Used

Amoeba Review

08/19/2013

An Object comes after two albums of bruising noise-pop and a third that turned down the volume to place favor on songwriting and guitar manipulation. While their third release, Everything All the Time, was a fine album, it was tough not to miss the sonic bliss of yesteryear. An Object splits the difference while making further inroads musically. “I Won’t Be Your Generator” still finds Dean Spunt sing-talking in a defiant beat style, but his verse seems to blend with guitarist Randy Randall’s fretwork better than ever, and Randall, for his part, provides some of his most melodic work to date. The duo spring to life for the brilliant “C’mon Stimmung,” a fiery piece of noise-rock with as much chaotic bending of strings as it has awesome shoutalong vocals and arena-ready riffs. The chilled out “An Impression” features some of Spunt’s most direct and affecting singing to date, and the addition of strings is tastefully done, without spoiling the specialness of No Age’s minimal setup. The album’s second half features a couple of rockers, like the fun, taut “Lock Box” and rumbling “Circling With Dizzy,” while the rest sees No Age indulging in some of its loveliest work to date, replete with krautrock-inspired beats and sonic guitar washes. An Object takes some time to get its teeth in you, but repeated listens show it to be as strong as anything they’ve done. Even as the punks in No Age mature, An Object shows they’re still an act that is special, one that continues to go its own way and turns over new leaves with each release.